ESPN College Football TV Schedule, Sept. 1-5

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2011 College Football Season Kicks off Thursday

First Week of Season Includes 44 Games in Five Days, College GameDay Built by The Home Depot from Arlington

ESPN will kick off the 2011 college football season with 44 games in five days across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.com as part of the fourth annual DICK’s Sporting Goods Kickoff Week Sept. 1-5. The season will conclude with all five post-season Bowl Championship Series bowls, highlighted by the Allstate BCS National Championship Jan. 9, at 8:30 p.m. ET, on ESPN, ESPN3.com, ESPN 3D and ESPN Radio.

Schedule highlights

The season will kick off with 11 games Thursday, Sept. 1, including an ESPNU doubleheader: Murray State at Louisville at 6 p.m. followed by Kentucky vs. Western Kentucky from Nashville at 9:15 p.m.

ESPN3.com will offer exclusive coverage of 13 games and 37 games overall.

First weekend will include two Saturday night telecasts pitting teams from the Associated Press top 25 preseason rankings against each other:

A Labor Day telecast Monday, Sept. 5 will feature an ACC showdown and debut of two new head coaches: Miami with Al Golden at Maryland, led by Randy Edsall, at 8 p.m. on ESPN, ESPN3.com, ESPN 3D and ESPN Radio.

New elements

ACC: The first year of a 12-year agreement with the Atlantic Coast Conference providing ESPN extensive rights to games for Saturday, Thursday and Labor Day telecasts across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPN3.com.

BYU: The first year of an eight-year agreement for exclusive rights to BYU home football games across multiple ESPN platforms. ESPN will televise the first game as an independent against Ole Miss Saturday, Sept. 3, at 4:45 p.m.

Goal Line and WatchESPN

Second year of ESPN Goal Line – currently available to Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Verizon FiOS TV customers – will include unlimited live cut-ins and highlights from numerous games every Saturday beginning at noon.

Viewers can also watch live ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3.com and ESPN Goal Line game action on smart phones or tablets through the WatchESPN app. The service – available to customers of Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks or Verizon FiOS TV – gives fans the ability to watch ESPN’s live networks, no matter where they are.

College GameDay Built by The Home Depot

College GameDay Built by The Home Depot – Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. on ESPNU and 10 a.m. to noon on ESPN – will open the season Sept. 3 from Arlington, Texas, site of the Cowboys Classic pitting No. 3 Oregon vs. No. 4 LSU (8 p.m. on ABC).

Chris Fowler will return as show host with analysts Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit and Desmond Howard. Erin Andrews will anchor several segments of the first hour on ESPNU and contribute reports, interviews and features during the ESPN portion. David Pollack joins as a contributor.

The three-time Emmy Award-winning program is entering its 25th season and 19th consecutive year of originating from the site of one of the day’s best games or a game with the most compelling storyline.

2011 SeasonThe 2011 college football season on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN 3D, ESPN3.com, ESPN Radio, ESPN Mobile TV, ESPN Regional Television and ESPN GamePlan will total more than 400 regular-and post-season games, concluding with the entire Bowl Championship Series, including the AllState BCS National Championship, on ESPN. The schedule will include weekly Saturday night games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, weekly ESPN and ESPNU Thursday night contests and telecasts every Friday and select Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN3.com, ESPN 3D, Longhorn Network and ESPN Radio ScheduleNote: All ABC split national, ESPN and ESPN2 games will be simulcast on ESPN3.com